The Start of Something Good
by TeenWolfFics20
Summary: Clarke has a dream about Bellamy and finds it hard to face him after as they head out to Mount Weather for their people. Set after 2x05. Bellarke. Absolutely no Flarke -whatever that is. multichapter for the all the bellarke hearts out there.
1. Chapter 1

Bellamy Blake surrounded me. His brown eyes raked over my body making my skin crawl with excitement and my heart pound in my chest. That sexy smirk crossed his lips. "What do you want, Princess?"

Wasn't it obvious? "I want you." My voice said with confidence.

He backed me up into the nearby wall, his hands grabbed my waist. Fire shot throughout my body at his touch. A sound a lot like a moan left my lips as he pushed his body against mine. I could feel his breath on my lips. Desire shown through his eyes. "Now that I can give you." He hoisted me up, wrapping my legs around his waist, my arms locked around his shoulders.

My lips crashed into his, both of us biting and nipping, trying to devour each other. I felt movement, all of sudden it was Bellamy lowering me onto his makeshift bed. My nerves far out weighted my awe at the sight of him without clothes. He surely heard my heart pounding out of my chest as he gazed at my bareness.

His eyes sought mine as he brought his hand to my cheek, barely touching it like a soft caress. "Clarke," Just like that all of my nerves went away. "Clarke, wake up."

I stared at him in curiosity. "Huh?"

"Wake your ass up, Princess. We've got work to do."

My body shot up at the touch of his hands. "Bellamy." Our eyes met. A blush crept to my cheeks. I looked down at my body, realizing that I kicked off my blanket in the nights, leaving me in my underwear.

His hands draped the blanket over me with a smirk. The same smirk that was in my dream. "We need to get a move on if we want to find the rest of our people." He stood and turned his back to me.

I stood with shakey legs, slipping on my clothes. "Right. Mt. Weather." A chuckle escaped me.

"What?" He asked, his back stiff.

I slid on my boots. "I was just thinking how different our lives would be right now if we were dropped on the right mountain. You wouldn't have had to step up as leader. None of us would've had to learn how to fight, how to kill. I wouldn't have fell for-"

His eyes found mine. "For Finn."

Words escaped me, so I just nodded. Had I fallen for Finn? Probably, but that was water under the bridge. Not when he had Raven. Not when we had more important things to worry about. Not when I started reading too much into the looks Bellamy gave me. Like the one he was giving me now.

I pushed past him. Fresh air and sunlight slapped me in the face. Guards and civilians worked and walked around. My eyes zeroed in on the group of Guards standing around. We needed more people than just me and Bellamy if we were going to get back Monty, Jasper, and the rest of our people from Mt. Weather.

"We need Finn and Murphy. Raven can't help us out on this one."

He came up behind me. "We don't need Finn." A bit of bark in his voice.

I headed towards his sleeping quarters. "Yes, we do. I know he's not in the best condition right now, but maybe that's what we need."

"Clarke, we have Guards. We have other people."

"He can do this. I know he can."

"Clarke!" He grabbed my arm and whirled me to him. His brown eyes unreadable as he took in my face. When he spoke his voice was lower. "We have other people."

I swallowed the lump in my throat, then tore my arm away. "Fine." Anger seeped into me as we headed to the group of Guards. Bellamy spoke to them with authority, briefing them on what to expect. Most of them have come in contact with the Grounders by now, they hadn't experienced the Reapers or the booby traps. They looked at him with inspiration in their eyes, all of them ranging in different ages and races, looking at Bellamy for wisdom.

His eyes locked on mine. "Clarke was held captive there. They're providing food, clothes, shelter for our people. They're not going to want to leave because they don't think of it as a prison. But when Clarke tried to leave the tried to kill her. She saw what they were doing to the Grounders, draining them of their blood. It's only a matter of time before they get around to our people. I don't know about you guys, but I want our people back."

The Guards cheered, amped up for our adventure as we started for the woods.

Bellamy stuck by my side no matter what pace I was going. "You have something to say, Princess?"

I gave a noncommittal shrug. "No, it's just some things never change."

"Oh yeah, what's that supposed to mean?"

My eyes scanned the forest for traps, for Grounders, for anything threatening because I couldn't meet his eyes just yet. "You're always inspiring people. You're always the rebel leader with a cause."

He grinned. "Is that a bad thing?"

"No," I shook my head. "It's sexy." My face blushed. Did I just say that out loud?

"It looks good on you, too, Princess."

My eyes met his. "Uh…" My feet fell from under me. It felt like I was falling. A hand grabbed my wrist. My eyes locked on Bellamy's as my hand wrapped around his wrist. My heart threatened to pound out of my chest as Déjà vu passed between us.

A few of the Guards tried to help him, but he had me all on his own as he pulled me up to him. He clutched me to his body. "Dammit, Princess."

I completely ignored how good it felt to be this close to him. "It's your fault. You distracted me."

He looked stunned. "I distracted _you_?"

The Guards made sure I was okay, but I waved them off.

I avoided that accusing stare. "Thank you."

He left it at that, walking ahead of everyone as we continued on.

"Ouch." Murphy said, coming up behind me. "Looks like the king has a weakness after all. Really it shouldn't be a surprise that's it's you of all people."

I gave him a look. "What are you talking about?"

He chuckled without humor. "You're both so clueless."

My irritation rose. "Murphy just spit it out or leave me alone."

He raised his hands in surrender, amusement clear on his face. "Why don't you ask Bellamy about his time spent on the Ark." He walked off.

Curse Murphy and his mind games. I had too much on my plate right now to be worrying about Bellamy and his nonexistent feelings for me. He thought I was good looking, so what? I knew I wasn't unattractive. Just like he knew wasn't either. That didn't equate to something more. Even though I wish it had.

What I needed to do was take the emotion out of it. We all needed to survive. Bellamy was a distraction, what happened earlier proved that. Now all I had to do was not stare at his ass.


	2. Bellarke Videos

playlist?list=PLBtjQJj3LJquwAYcpOqi5rcQrhfrlHax0

Hey, yall. I'm working on chapter 2 right now and I thought yall could watch these bellarke videos to crave your appetite. It's just my bellarke youtube playlist.


	3. Take Me Into Your Loving Arms

Okay, after reading the reviews this morning I'm giving the people what they want. Another chapter. Just kidding, I was already making this a multi chapter. And if you've read by Teen Wolf fics then you know I like to switch up the POV's. I doubt I'll ever do a crazy POV like Abby or Jaha, mostly if not only Clarke and Bellamy. Let's do this shit…

BELLAMY'S POV

She can't be dead. Not Clarke. She's stronger than that. I clutched her watch in my hand, hoping to hell that my princess hadn't left me alone in this fucked up world.

"Let's keep going. We can find a trail." Finn suggested.

As much as I wanted to find our people I knew it wasn't that easy. Finn was slowly losing it, losing grip of who he was. Clarke would be disappointed in him. Which was even more pathetic because he was doing this all for her. A streak of jealously ran through me like it always did when I thought about Finn and Clarke.

"Even if we do find a trail, how do we know its Clarke's? They've been gone for days. Let's not forget about the Grounders and Reapers that live in these woods." I spoke up.

He turned to me. "We have to do something. I don't see you coming up with ideas."

"Hey, I want to find Clarke just as much you do. All I'm saying is there are smarter ways to go about it."

He gave a slight nod. "I thought you wanted to find 'our people'." Bitterness dripped from his voice. "Now it's about Clarke? Your 'Princess'?"

Murphy stepped between us. "I don't care who we're finding as long as someone unties my hands."

I pushed Murphy aside. "That's right, my princess. Last time I checked you had a girlfriend." I chuckled without humor. "Oh, that's right. I slept with her, too." Even though I hadn't slept with Clarke I wanted Finn to think I had. How caveman of me, right? It irked me to no end to know he was her first.

Finn's hand flew out so fast I didn't see it coming as it knocked me back a few feet. "What'd you say to me?"

I charged him, knocking him to the ground. Finn taking the first punch was all I needed. Every flare of anger that I had in the past few days came out through my fists. Finn kicked me off of him far enough to get the drop on me.

"Guys, we really don't have time for this. Need I remind you, I'm a sitting duck." Murphy interjected, waving his trapped hands as much as he could.

Finn turned to Murphy long enough for me to punch right in the jaw. He fell over from the unexpected impact. "Why don't you ask Raven how it was? She was the one that came to me."

Monroe and Sterling pulled me off of him before it could go any further.

"Clarke would never fall for you." He spat. "She's not that stupid." He rose on shakey legs.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I pulled away from them.

"Murphy's right, we don't have time for this. We are sitting ducks right now." Monroe argued. "We need to go."

Finn pushed past us, his sole mission to find Clarke. I couldn't say if in his position I wouldn't be the same, but I wasn't. Clarke didn't want me. She wanted Finn. Out of the dozens of things I couldn't decipher about her that much I knew.

Hours later we still didn't have an actual plan. We were unprepared and it was reeking off all of us.

"How about we split up. We could cover more ground that way." I suggested. Honestly, I couldn't stand to be around Finn any longer. If Clarke was gone and this was my punishment I could do without Finn for a few hours.

"That's the only smart thing that's come out of your mouth all day." Finn turned to Monroe, Sterling, and Murphy. "Either you're following me or you're following him."

"I'll follow whoever unties me."

Finn frees him. "You guys coming or not?"

Sterling and Monroe looked at each other. "We're staying with Bellamy."

A sense of loyalty ran through me. Clarke would tell me it was because I inspired them when there was no hope. I knew better though. From the moment we landed here, it was only fear that we persuaded them to listen to me. As much as I wanted to believe Clarke's words I knew her intentions were pure. She didn't want me to run away like a coward. A smile crossed my lips.

"What's the plan?" Monroe asked.

"We look in the opposite direction. That's the best we can do."

After hours of nothing I pointed out, "Keep your eyes peeled. It's been too quiet for too long."

Just then a spear shot Sterling in the chest, pinning him to a nearby tree. Monroe and I ran for cover. A spear nicked my arm before flying past me. Monroe groaned in pain. She was shot in the leg.

A familiar voice came from nearby. I couldn't understand what was being said, but I knew that voice. "Octavia?" I called out.

Her face came into view, slightly bruised and bloodied. Relief flooded me. She warned them off in whatever language they spoke. How did she learn to speak it so fast?

I rose to embrace her. Tears welled in my eyes. "I'm glad to see you." I hugged her tight.

She laughed as she squeezed back. "Nice to see you, big brother." She pulled away. "Where's everybody?"

"Finn and Murphy went to look for everyone. They're at Mount Weather."

"Why aren't you with them?"

"They kept fighting over Clarke." Monroe added as she tried to stand.

Octavia went to help her. She broke the longer part of the arrow off, then looked at me. Her brow suggestive. "What else is new?"

I gave her a look. "Where's Lincoln."

Her face darkened and I knew something had happened. "He's gone." She started walking with Monroe.

As much as I didn't want to see my baby sister hurt she was a tough girl. She tried to make peace with Lincoln's people. She learned how to fight, how to kill. She went up against Grounders and Reapers. Her she was in front of me looking like a Grounder. A tiny bit of happiness ran through me because she was okay. Now she was heading back in the direction we came from.

"Where are you going?"

"She needs to get medical help. I could dress her wound, but that's about it."

I walked beside her. "It'll take hours to get back to the Arc basecamp. She doesn't have that much time before she loses a lot of blood and infection sets in."

She spoke to the leader of the group she was with. The leader gave her a nod of approval before we set off. "I know a short cut."

"O, I need to look for our people. You can take Monroe back."

"Bellamy Blake, there's no way you're going to last in these woods at night by yourself. Look at you. You need food, you need rest. We can look for your princess tomorrow."

How do I know she'll be alive then?

"Relax. Clarke's a fighter. She can handle herself."

Her words rang true, but I needed to know for myself. How would Abby feel when I showed up empty handed? I would get a few hours of sleep, then I'd go out looking by myself. I wasn't afraid of some Grounders.

With what only felt like minutes the basecamp came into view. Dread filled me. I didn't want to be a failure. I didn't want Abby looking at me with disappointment. The Guards spotted us then escorted us in. My hand clutched onto the watch I stashed in my front pocket as the Guard took my gun.

Abby came up to us. "You guys okay? Where are the others?"

"We broke off from Finn and Murphy. Sterling's dead. We came back because of Monroe's leg." I supplied, although I knew it wasn't good enough.

She nodded. "Get her to medical." She gave me a parting glance.

I locked eyes with Octavia. I was about to tell her I didn't need the rest, that I was going back out there when something knocked the breath out of me. Arms wrapped tightly around my neck. A sigh of relief came from the person. All I could see was long blonde hair. My body's reaction to her told me it had to be Clarke. My arms locked around her, pulling her even closer. I needed her to be closer. We swayed from side to side as I tried to remember everything about this moment because I didn't think I was going to get it again.

"Now there's something I thought I'd never see."

My mind flashed back to every argument, every battle, every feeling I've ever had about the girl. I let out a sigh of relief.

She let go way too soon for my liking to give Octavia a hug.

"I'm glad you're okay." Octavia told her.

"You, too."

The tactical part of my brain needed to know. "How many with you?"

"None. Where's Finn?"

My face fell. Whether because our people were still at Mount Weather or she was primarily concerned about Finn, I wasn't sure. I saw Raven looking around for him and I regretted my comment from earlier. She was a nice person and I degraded her to get at Finn.

I turned back to Clarke. "Out looking for you."

Her face fell.

We heard gunshots nearby as we searched for Finn and Murphy. It had to have been them. We were the only ones with guns. What we didn't expect was to find Finn holding the gun surrounded by dead Grounders. We moved looked around in disbelief.

Clarke moved forward in horror. Finn took a few steps to meet her but she backed away from him. A large part of me wanted to throw her over my shoulders and run far away from him, but she needed to come to whatever conclusion on her own. My hands gripped my gun in case he tried to hurt her.

He sighed in relief. "I found you."

She shook her head.

BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBB

When I went to wake up Clarke the next morning the last thing I expected was to find her sprawled in her under wear. It wasn't just any ole sprawl, but one that stirred something primal in me. Throwing my lust aside I called out to her. "Clarke." No answer. "Clarke wake up." She muttered something. It was hard not to smile at her, all disoriented and sexy. A big part of me wanted to forget why I came in here and just lay with her, but I was certain she'd wake up and slap the shit out of me. Besides, if I wanted to lay beside her she'd be the one to initiate it. I touched her calf. "Wake your ass up, Princess. We've got work to do."

She shot up like a rocket. Maybe she had a nightmare. She realized I'd seen her without much clothing and I placed her blanket back on her. I couldn't hide my smirk at the blush on her face.

"We need to get a move on if we want to find the rest of our people." I turned around, giving her the privacy she needed. A big part of me longed for the day that there was no privacy between us.

"Right. Mount Weather." She laughed.

My back stiffened. A few hours I wasn't sure if I'd ever hear that laugh again. "What?"

"I was just thinking how different our lives would be right now if we were dropped on the right mountain. You wouldn't have had to step up as leader. None of us would've had to learn how to fight, how to kill. I wouldn't have fell for-"

My eyes bore into hers. "For Finn." I didn't say it as a question because I already knew the answer. How could she not see how I felt about her? I've wondered if she knew the whole time used that to her advantage.

She nodded.

I took her in. Even with the bruises and cuts and dirt she was still gorgeous. I thought back to the Arc and how she seemed prim and proper, but I knew there was deviancy underneath it all. When we landed part of me egged her on because I loved getting a rise out of her, but my need for survival outweighed whatever crush I harbored for her on the Arc.

She pushed past me. "We need Finn and Murphy. Raven can't help us out on this one."

It was like a slap in the face. After everything she saw she still choose him over me. "We don't need Finn."

She started to find him. "Yes, we do. I know he's not in the best condition right now, but maybe that's what we need."

"Clarke, we have Guards. We have other people."

"He can do this. I know he can."

"Clarke!" I grabbed her arm, pulling to me. A look of fear-no, shock-crossed her face. I scared her. That was the last thing I wanted to do. "We have other people." I said gently.

"Fine."

We headed to the Guards waiting for us. I could tell she was pissed at me, but I couldn't think about that right now. I had to pep up these guys. They've been down here for a few days and most of that has been behind the protection of the base camp with weapons. They didn't know what it was like for us.

My eyes found her baby blues. I had to rip them away for fear of throwing her onto my bed and having my way with her. "Clarke was held captive there. They're providing food, clothes, shelter for our people. They're not going to want to leave because they don't think of it as a prison. But when Clarke tried to leave the tried to kill her. She saw what they were doing to the Grounders, draining them of their blood. It's only a matter of time before they get around to our people. I don't know about you guys, but I want our people back."

They cheered, as ready as they could be for our trek. From the moment we left base camp I glued myself to Clarke's side. I lost her in the chaos once, I didn't want to go through that again. My body was fully aware of every step she took. Though beef-headed sometimes, I wasn't stupid. Clarke was still pissed at me.

"You have something to say, Princess?"

She shrugged. "No, it's just some things never change."

Was that a dig?

"Oh yeah, what's that supposed to mean?"

She wouldn't meet my eyes and it was frustrating as hell. "You're always inspiring people. You're always the rebel leader with a cause."

I couldn't fight the grin on my face. I still wasn't sure how she managed to paint into that light. Ever since we met all I've done are terrible things. "Is that a bad thing?" The sun kept catching the gold in her hair, distracting me to no end.

"No, it's sexy."

My eyes landed on her face. She looked shocked as hell that it came out her mouth. The redness in her cheeks proved my point, she hadn't meant to say it. "It looks good on you, too, Princess."

She looked up at me with those blue eyes at a loss for words. "Uh…"

I watched as she fell into what had to be a booby trap. Damn Grounders. My hand grabbed her forearm. There was no way I was letting her go. She looked up at me with scared eyes, then all of a sudden they weren't scared anymore, like she knew I would take care of her. Ironic, the last time we were in this situation she thought I wanted to kill her. All of it was hype so the others would follow me in fear.

I pulled her to me, not wanting to let her go. She felt so good against me. "Dammit, Princess." Dammit for making me want you, for you not wanting me, for you almost dying.

"It's your fault. You distracted me."

"I distracted _you_?" That was golden.

She wouldn't meet my eyes as the Guards checked her over. Abby would give them hell as the new Chancellor if Clarke came back banged up. She had yet to realize that there wasn't a day down here that went by where we didn't get banged up. The only difference between them and us was that we were used to it now. We expected it.

"Thank you."

Anger ebbed in me as I stalked away from her. How could I forget how we couldn't go long without arguing? It wasn't like she actually liked me. She respected me. She trusted me. That was it.

Octavia came from nowhere. "Trouble in Paradise?"

"Where'd you come from? I thought you were sleeping back at basecamp."

She grinned in satisfaction. "Please, I've been following you since you left." She glanced behind us. "So what's going on between you and Clarke?"

I shrugged. "Nothing." Absolutely nothing.

"Please, you two reek of sexual tension."

My eyes widened. "Would you keep your voice down?" I glanced around us, my eyes finding Clarke walking about lost in thought. "What are you talking about?"

"Crazy's out of the picture. Man up, Bell."

My guess was that 'Crazy' was Finn. I wasn't quite sure Octavia was right about him not being in the picture anymore. Just this morning Clarke confirmed that she fell in love with him. Who's to say she still isn't? Did that mean I couldn't try? That I had to give up? No.

I cut my eye at O. A grin crossed my lips. "How are you so wise? I'm the big brother." My arm fell across her shoulders, pulling her to me.

She smiled. "All that testerone got to you."

I laughed. "Probably."

I glanced back to check on everyone, finding Murphy next to Clarke. Jealousy coursed through me. What were they talking about? I forced myself to turn around or I'd be back there marking my territory.

"Calm down, Bell. Clarke's not that stupid. The way I see it, there's nothing stopping you from marching back there and laying one on her."

My eyes rolled. "That's not going to happen. We have people to save, I don't have time to woow Clarke." My mind went back to our interaction before she fell in the trap. Just because she said I was 'sexy' didn't mean she felt something for me beyond mutual respect. But there was that blush, then there was the way she talked to me. Whether she was reprimanding me or lifting me up it was with passion.

A sigh escaped me as I pinched my nose. "I can't do this right now."

"Fine." She stopped as I kept walking on. "Be a coward."

By nightfall we made it within a few miles of Mount Weather. It was easy to see from our campsite, but we were far enough away to retreat if we had to. We had a few Guards posted as most of everybody ate around the campfire. I knew I should eat, but right now food wasn't on my mind. My eyes fell on Clarke as I stood against a tree. The fire lit her golden blonde hair making it even more golden. She talked with Octavia, laughing, smiling, and looking every bit of desirable. On the Arc, I just had a stupid little crush on her. That was it. Down here, I wanted to get to know her. I wanted to please her, I wanted to be the one she came to when she had a problem and not a problem with. Finn beat me to it.

I lowered my gaze as I let out a small humorless laugh. She couldn't be all I thought about. There were more important things than Clarke Griffin. But I couldn't bring myself to care about them more than Clarke.

Needing a break, I pushed off the tree and headed for the woods.

"Where you going, Blake?" One of the Guards asked.

"For a walk. I wanted to do another sweep." When one of them tried to come with me I threw out, "By myself."

Shortly after I found a lake. All I wanted to do was listen to the water moving and the natural noises of the forest. My eyes drifted to the full moon surrounded by stars. How odd it is to be down here looking up when most of my life I was up there looking down.

"You mind if I sit?"

I turned to see Clarke with her hands in her jacket pockets, wearing an expectant grin. "You can do whatever the hell you want, Princess."

She sat a few inches from me, her body heat warming me right up. "We're back to that again? Doing whatever the hell we want?"

I thought back to when I was a really big dick. Probably still am, but at least now Clarke trusts me. "Not even close." I looked over at her. If I did whatever the hell I wanted I'd have you wrapped in my arms right now. "What are you doing out here?" Did she need some air too?

She propped her head on her knees as she looked at me. "I was a bitch earlier."

"I wouldn't go that far." I grinned.

She punched me in the arm. "Hey." Her smile made some of this all worth it. "I wanted to talk with you."

My heart pounded in my chest. Did she know?

"I didn't want to leave you when the Reapers came. They were telling me to close the door, but you were right there, getting beaten to a pulp." Her eyes looked moist in the moonlight. "Finn tried to help you, he did that for me. And then it was too late and I didn't have a choice." She wiped at the tears that slipped down her pale cheek. "I thought you were dead, Bell."

My heart squeezed at both the tears and her calling me by the nickname Octavia gave me when we were younger. I had no idea Clarke cared that much if I lived or died.

"It was all I could think about while I was at Mount Weather, besides escaping. I owe Finn for trying to save you, that's why I don't want to give up on him."

I didn't know what to say to that, so I said, "I've already forgiven you, Clarke."

She grinned through whatever was causing her pain. "I know, I just wanted you to know."

I swallowed the lump in my throat. "That means a lot to me." I didn't know what that meant to her.

CLARKE'S POV

I felt like a weight lifted off my chest after I told Bellamy that I regretted how things went down. "Bellamy, what happened on the Arc?"

His dark eyes looked confused. "What do you mean?"

Nerves racked through me. What if Murphy was just messing with me? What if he said he never thought of me that way? Well, there was only one way to find out.

"Earlier Murphy told me to ask you about how you spent your time on the Arc. Do you know what he meant by that?"

I swear his olive skin turned pink. Was he blushing?

"Oh, he knew about…" He hesitated.

I gave him a look that encouraged him to go on.

"Murphy knew about my crush on you."

Now it was my turn to blush. "What?" I could help but laugh. Bellamy having a crush on me while we were on the Arc.

"Ouch, Princess."

"I'm not laughing at you, I promise. It's just weird."

He looked hurt. "That I'd have feelings for you?"

"What? No. I meant about the Arc. When we got here I assumed you wanted me dead with me being in the way of your master plan and all."

He chuckled. "I never wanted you dead, Princess."

"So what was it about me?"

"What do you mean?"

I looked at him expectantly. "I didn't know you then so why'd you have a crush on me?"

He huffed, probably feeling uncomfortable talking about this. "Honestly, I thought you were hot."

I couldn't help but laugh.

He joined in. "Among other things."

"You're not going to tell me what those other things are, are you?"

He shook his head.

"Once you got to know me I'm sure that went away."

"Who said it went away?"

The breath left out of me. Was he admitting to having feelings for me?

He stared down at my lips.

"Bellamy."

A rain drop hit me right on the forehead. I looked up just as rain started beating down heavily on us. Our eyes locked and broke out into laughter.

"Maybe we should get back." He suggested as he rose.

I nodded as he held out his hand for me. When I placed my hand in his warmth tingled up and down my body. He pulled me to him, not expecting us to slip and fall into each other, hitting our foreheads together.

"Ow." We groaned simultaneously.

Bellamy reached his hand over to survey my forehead. The feel of his fingers on my skin made me hyper aware of him. His eyes slid to mine. I wanted to move forward, to taste his lips, to feel his hands on my hips, but something stopped me.

He pulled away. "You need to get some sleep for tomorrow." He rose, helping me up.

I avoided his eyes. "You don't have to worry about me. I can take care of myself."

He stalked off. "Night, Princess."

I wanted to call out to him, but what would I say? That I was scared? That the last person I'd given myself to had totally screwed me over? Bellamy's track record with women has only been rising. I trusted him completely with my life, but with my heart? I wasn't so sure.


	4. Trying Not To Love You

CLARKE'S POV:

I groaned internally as I made my way through the thick darkness. Bellamy headed back, clearly frustrated with me. I knew I wasn't helping out with whatever was going on with us, but I had a right to pull back. Bellamy Blake wasn't exactly a romancer and from his many conquests one could gather he liked different flavors.

How had I dug myself into this hole? First Finn and now this. Maybe I should just give up on romance, it's distracting. Survival and peace are top priority. Not Bellamy Blake and his rebel hotness.

"Clarke." A voice whispered from above me.

Thinking it was a Grounder I drew my knife only to find Bellamy dangling in a trap. A laugh bubbled out of me. I couldn't help it.

"You think this is funny, Princess?"

I snorted a laugh as I tried to compose myself. "No, I'm-yeah! You've been an ass pretty much the entire time I've known you, so yeah this is a little funny."

"Fine, I deserve that. Just get me down. Who knows when the Grounders are going to be back?" He struggled, only making it worse.

Realizing his life was in danger I sobered up. "You're right." I jumped, but I wasn't tall enough to reach him. I backed up a few feet and ran to reach him, but I fell to the ground clutching the knife in my hand.

"Relax. You can do this, Clarke."

The fog horn rung its warning.

"We have time. Don't panic."

I backed up again and ran full force and propelled myself into the air. My fingers couldn't get a hold of the rope. A groan escaped me.

"It's almost here!" He warned. "Look at me."

Our eyes met. I didn't want him to see failure in mine. If I didn't get him down then we'd both die.

"You need to run," He demanded.

"What? You can't be serious."

"You can't cut me down and run for safety at the same time. We don't have time to argue about it."

Determined, I ran from where I came. I heard a gasp that had to be Bellamy's before I charged forward. He wasn't going to die today, not because I was weak.

When he saw me he yelled, "No, what are you doing?!"

"I'm not leaving you!" My fingers found holes, I eventually pulled myself up to cut a line through the trap.

Without warning, Bellamy pushed forward, sending us both falling to the ground. A sharp pain came from my leg. I looked at the source to find the makeshift knife sticking through my leg. "Ahhh!"

Her cursed, then picked me up and ran with me in his arms. I didn't know how he was able to keep speed and carry me at the same time, I wasn't as little as Octavia or Charlotte. Bellamy was strong, that much I knew.

"Hold on, Princess. We're going to make it."

My eyes fell on the fast approaching fog trailing behind us. "Bellamy, hurry!" My heart was already pounding out of my chest for close proximity reasons, but now our lives were very much in danger. My arms tightened around his neck, enjoying the warmth in this bitter, cold weather.

He groaned in pain as the fog closed in on us. He somehow ran faster, cutting across a path it hadn't hit. "There's some caves around here."

"No, we don't have time. There's an abandoned bunker through those trees." I pointed to where I meant.

He opened the latch, threw me on to his back before descending the stairs. We couldn't see a thing until our eyes adjusted to the new darkness.

"There should be candles all over the place. We just need to find something to light them with." I hobbled to the counter.

Bellamy lifted me up unexpectedly and set me on the couch. "You need to get off that leg, Princess."

A flick of anger coursed through me. "You know, I'm not some damsel in distress. I don't know why you insist on calling me 'Princess'. I'm not spoiled."

He lit a few candles with some old matches Finn and I found the last time we were here. He grabbed a blanket as he pulled a chair in front of me and sat down. "I've never seen you as a damsel, Clarke." His brown eyes met mine.

"Then why do you call me that all the time?"

A tiny grin touched his lips. "Maybe I thought of as a princess, Princess."

I tried to hide my smile as his hands grabbed my injured thigh. "Yeah, right." I bit back a cry as he yanked out the knife. "What's the real reason?"

"You don't want to know." He ripped a piece off the blanket and wrapped it around my wound. "That's the best I can do." His hands rested on my thigh, sending thrills all through my body.

My face felt flushed, I knew there was no way to hide it in the candlelight.

He winced.

"What?" I surveyed him, but couldn't find anything wrong. "What is it?"

"My back. I picked the wrong night to leave my jacket behind." He pulled the shirt over his head, revealing his…

"Abs for days." I muttered.

His eyes met mine. "What'd you say?"

I swallowed the lump in my throat. "Oh, wipe that smirk off your face. You know you're hot."

He grinned. "What am I supposed to say to that?"

A laugh bubbled up in me. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said anything. Let me look at your back."

He turned around in the chair, showcasing a few tiny blisters here and there.

I snorted a laugh. "You big baby, there's hardly anything here." I ran my hand down the planes of his muscled back, liking the contact too much.

"Doesn't mean I can't feel it."

My eyes stung. "Bellamy…"

"Clarke." He turned back around to face me. His eyes roamed over my face, understanding. "I know I'm not alone in this." His thumb reached out to wipe away a fallen tear. "Why are you crying?"

The tenderness in his voice only made it harder to stop crying. I wiped at my eyes and pulled myself together. "I can't afford to lose anyone else I care about." I searched his eyes, realizing how true this was. I may have been scared by Bellamy's past and experience, but that wasn't the only reason. "I care about you, Bellamy." My hand found his. "I just-I'm scared that whatever it is we have could jeopardize-why are you smiling?"

"You think I'm hot and that we have something?"

I tried to hide my smile. "Shut up, I'm trying to say my piece and you're distracting me. Again."

"I'm just smiling."

"Oh yeah?" I pointed to his toned muscles and face. "What's all that?"

His thumb and forefinger held my chin. "Clarke," He closed the distance between us, leaving a few inches of space. The heat lapped between us. "You're not the only one that's scared."

My eyes fell to his lips. Every reasoning I had slipped away as his lips gently fell on mine. An embarrassing sigh came from me.

He pulled away. "I had to do that once." His thumb ran over my lips as he pulled away.

There were no words. All I could was stare at him.

He rose from the chair, finally noticing the one thing I tried to avoid. "The fog's going to be a few hours, we're going to need our rest for tomorrow." When he see me eyeing it he said, "What's with the stink eye, Clarke?" He chuckled. "I'm not going to ravish you if that's what you're worried about."

I laughed despite my nerves. "That's not what-that's not it." I cleared my throat, afraid of his reaction. "This is where Finn and I, uh…" I blew out a heavy breath. "We-"

"Here?"

Our eyes met. I nodded before looking anywhere but his eyes.

"Hey, I hate when you don't look at me." He kneeled in front of me.

I huffed. "You make me nervous."

He chuckled. "Given our history I find that highly unlikely." His hands grabbed my waist, making me gasp at the contact when he picked me up and laid me on the bed. "We can make new memories." He grinned before turning to rummage through the boxes and cabinets. "Cards?" He held up a deck.

"You have me in a bed and you want to play cards?" I asked amused.

His brow rose. "You up for other activities, Princess?"

I grinned as I took in his chest again. "Maybe."

A rueful smile played on his lips. "If I thought you were, we'd be having a different conversation." He sat beside me, emptying the cards onto the bed. "What do you want to play?"

BELLAMY'S POV:

_"What are you smiling about, Bell?" Octavia asked me as I sat down next to her._

_ Was I smiling? I was just thinking about that blonde girl I saw punch the daylights out of this perv that grabbed her ass. I didn't know who she was, but I kept seeing around. The Arc was big, I didn't know everyone. _

_ I shrugged. "Nothing." _

_ "You little liar." Octavia teased as she poked my side. _

_ I grinned at her. "Knock it off. Let's go over History. Mom said you barely passed the last test she gave you."_

_A few months later_

_ John Murphy sat in front of me at the cafeteria with a devious glint in his eyes, blocking my view of the girl. _

_ "Need something, Murphy?"_

_ "Just looking to have a good time, Bellamy."_

_ My eyes narrowed at him. "I'm not into dudes, Murphy."_

_ He laughed. "Good, neither am I. I was talking about a party. I know you're training to be a Guard and all, but I heard you know where I can get some medicinal fun."_

_ My mind went to Jasper and Monty. They took some special herbs from the garden sometimes, but they never got caught because they always replaced it. I didn't feel the need to turn them in mainly because they were my friends – sort of – and they always replaced what they took. No harm no foul._

_ "Why are you asking me? Like you said, I'm training to be a Guard." My eyes went back to the girl as she rose with a black guy._

_ Murphy turned to see what had caught my attention. He grinned. "You got the hots for Clarke? I hope not Wells."_

_ "That's her name?" I kept calling her princess in my head. There was something about her prim and proper outside that made her regal. That hair, it reminded me of spun gold._

_ He gave me a look. "How are you apart of the Guard and you don't know royalty when you see it?" He pointed to the girl he called Clarke. "That's Clarke Griffin, her parents are the nurses, and that's Wells Jaha, as in Chancellor Jaha's son."_

_ "Shit." _

_ When we were training I never saw her. Thinking about it, Wells did look familiar. _

_ "You're never tapping that. Wells has been doing his time with that one. I picture a wedding in a few years." He took a sip of his drink. "What? You think you have a shot with her?"_

_ No, I didn't._

_ I rose._

_ "Hey, you gonna help me out or not?" He called after me._

_ "Not." _

A grin passed my lips as I watched Clarke yawn. "Sleepy, Princess?"

"No, we can keep playing." She fought to keep her eyes open.

I wrapped one arm around her waist and pulled her to my chest, careful not to hit her injured leg. I pulled the covers over us. Her body was rigid. I could feel her heart pounding in her chest.

"Now, I'll never get to sleep."

I grinned. "Relax, Princess. No funny business, I swear."

After a few moments her heart calmed down, most of the tension left her body as she wrapped her arms arm around mine. "Thanks." Her voice barely above a whisper.

"For what?"

"For giving me a better memory of this place."

My heat skipped a beat. "You know, you're making this really hard."

"Please tell me you're not talking about your…you know what?"

I laughed. "No, but I don't want to speak too quickly."

"Then what did you mean?" The amusement was clear in her voice.

"Just trying not to love you."

She gasped as her body froze. "Bellamy…"

"You don't have to say anything, Clarke. What I've been feeling for you has gone on longer than our time spent down here, remember?"

Her fingers slid between mine. "Bellamy?"

"Yeah?"

"You're my best friend."

The weight of what she said brought unexpected tears to my eyes. What was a best friend? Someone who you cared about unconditionally. Someone you bickered with, but forgave five minutes later. Someone who had your back no matter what. Someone who completely challenged you. Someone who made you laugh and smile. Someone who made you glad you were alive. Someone you couldn't imagine not having in your life.

I realized that I had all of that with Clarke. "You're my best friend, too."

"Night, Bellamy."

I kissed the top of her head. "Night, Clarke.


	5. Breathe

CLARKE'S POV:

I rolled over to find the bed empty.

"Clarke." Bellamy's strained voice came from nearby. There was something wrong.

My eyes found Tristian holding a spear between him and Finn. My heart jumped out of my chest as I rose from the bed.

"Tristian, you don't have to do this." Tears stung my eyes. "Look, we had to fight back. Your people would've done the same thing."

There was a look of betrayal in Finn's eyes, he assumed Bellamy and I had slept together. Bellamy's held something else; understanding, respect, yearning, regret, and maybe love.

"Chose."

"What? I can't-"

"Chose!" He spat.

"I can't!"

My eyes went to Bellamy. I regretted so much; not telling him how I felt sooner, not being with him last night. When I looked at Finn I saw that the betrayal turned to sorrow in his eyes. He mouthed that he was sorry. I nodded in forgiveness.

Bellamy fell to his knees with the spear in his chest.

"No!" I cried. My chest felt hollow as I scrambled to him. His struggled to breathe as blood spilled from his mouth. My hand caressed his face. "How could you?" I screamed at Tristian.

Just as I spoke he cut Finn's throat from ear to ear. Finn dropped to the ground, clutching at his bloodied throat.

All the air escaped me as Tristian turned to leave as if none of this affected him. I looked at Finn dead on the floor. My eyes went back to Bellamy. He was gone.

"No." I shook him, careful not to move the spear. "Look at me." I begged. His words came back to me. _This is all on you, Princess. You should've kept your mouth shut_. My other hand gripped his shaggy black hair. "You of all people can't leave me."

"What the hell is this?" A familiar voice yelled, stirring me awake.

"How'd you find us?" Another familiar voice asked.

"What happened to her leg?"

"She fell with a knife in her hand. Keep your voice down. She's resting."

My vision blurred I called out. "Bellamy?"

My thoughts worked back to my dream. Relief washed through me. It was just a dream.

Bellamy sat in front of me on the bed. Concern in his eyes. "You okay, Princess?"

My arms wrapped around his neck, pulling him to me. Worry still sat in the pit of my stomach. I lost him. But it was just a dream.

"Bad dream?" He guessed.

I winced as I tried to stand. How'd I forget about my leg? In the dream my leg wasn't a problem.

My eyes went to Finn as my hand grabbed Bellamy's shoulder. Once again relief flooded through me. A smile crossed my face. They were alive.

Finn walked over. "Hey." He said awkwardly.

"What are you doing here?"

"I can't sit cooped up for that long. I need to help you guys. I want our friends back just as much as you do."

"I thought it was just _Clarke_ you were worried about." Bellamy bit out.

I gave him a look. Now was not the time to do the whole love triangle thing. We have people to save.

"Finn, have you been to camp? Did you see any casualties?"

He shook his head. "No, I came straight here after the fog hit."

Bellamy and I shared a look. "We need to go back." He said. He helped me up and outside.

I breathed in the fresh air. It felt good to be outside again. Then Bellamy set me down and it became hard to walk. He moved to pick me up again, but I backed up into Finn on accident.

"You go ahead. Finn and I'll catch up."

His brown eyes met min. Unmistakable hurt was etched on his face.

How could I make him understand that I wasn't choosing Finn over him? I trusted Finn before I trusted Bellamy, but then I trusted Bellamy when I didn't trust Finn. Things just got so complicated and I didn't know how to stop the melodrama.

"My leg is slowing us down." I huffed. "Bellamy, you have to check on Octavia."

He eyed Finn. "Octavia can take care of herself."

"That's true, but you should go check on the others. We're right behind you, I promise." I gave a nod in good faith. I would be okay with Finn. He wasn't going to hurt me. He couldn't anymore.

Bellamy nodded before running ahead of us. A big part of me wish I were running with him.

It seemed like forever that Finn and I walked in silence. Nature was our background noise and it was eerily quiet.

"So are you guys together now or what?" He blurted out rudely.

"I don't know."

"What do you mean you don't know, Clarke?"

I huffed. "Bellamy and I are friends, okay?"

"And you sleep with all of your friends?"

I stopped in my tracks. "What the hell is wrong with you, Finn?"

"What's wrong with me is that you and I are supposed to be together."

"Yeah, and who messed that up?" I walked away from him, as far as I could with a bum leg.

He walked beside me. "I thought we were over the whole Raven thing."

I scoffed. "Raven thing? You cheated on her with me. You slept with me knowing there was a chance she'd make it down here." Tears stung my eyes, but I pushed them back. "You don't know how much you hurt me."

"Clarke, that's not fair."

"What wasn't fair was me finding out like I did!" I groaned. "Whatever." I scanned the trees. "I'm not mad at you." I locked eyes with him. "I'm worried that if something happens to me you'll go for the Grounders again."

He rubbed his eyes. "That was a mistake. I was stressed out and tired. I had to find you."

"You don't just murder people on mistake. You _need _help."

He gave a sour laugh. "So you want to get me out of the way so you can be with Bellamy, huh?"

"What are you talking about?"

"You slept with him!" He spat.

It was becoming increasingly hard to control my anger. "Last night we didn't do anything."

His eyes had a crazy glint. "Then when?!"

I paced ahead. "I don't even know you anymore." I gave a humorless laugh. "I guess I never did."

"Don't avoid the subject. Bellamy said he was with you just like he was with Raven."

My heart thumped in my chest. "He what?" He slept with Raven? He said we slept together? When? Why?

"You didn't know?"

Words escaped me. "I-"

"So you didn't? Or you didn't know about Raven?"

I ran my hands through my hair. "I don't know what you want me to say. I didn't sleep with Bellamy." I stalked off.

"Wait…Clarke?"

"I didn't sleep with him, Finn!" I yelled.

Tears pricked my eyes. There had to be an explanation. I trusted Bellamy to not hurt me. He wouldn't say something like that, not about me.

As we walked back, Finn kept his distance. I was glad. When we got back to camp everything was packed, but there were two guards on the ground. Octavia and Bellamy were talking to the rest of the guards while Murphy just sat on the ground. They looked up at our presence.

Octavia ran up to me. "Bell said you were injured and with Finn. Both of those aren't too good." She eyed Finn carefully as she pulled me into a hug. "Thank you for saving my brother."

I gave a smile. "It was my pleasure."

Finn walked over to everyone else.

She smirked. "I bet."

"Oh, God." I laughed. "Octavia, no." I shook my head.

"No?" Her brown eyes narrowed.

"No. We're just friends." Even as I said it I didn't believe it.

She rolled her eyes. "Whatever you say, "Princess"." She mocked her brother.

I nodded to the bodies. "Fog?"

"Yeah. We tried to save them, but it was too late. The other guards want to bury them, but we don't have the time." She went back to everyone as Bellamy came to me.

His dark eyes looked worried. "What's wrong?"

I pushed past him to talk to the others. "I know you all want to honor our people, but we don't have time to spare. They're dead and I'm sorry about that, but the rest of the hundred could still be alive. Every minute we waste on burying these guards the hundred could be picked off. If you want to stay, good luck finding your way back to the basecamp before a Grounder finds you."

"So we just leave them?" A guard asked.

"We don't have a choice." Bellamy stepped in. "Clarke's right." He shot me a glance. "They're already dead. We need to head out now."

Regardless if I was ticked off at him, his rebel leadership still was a sight to behold. "I mentally smacked myself as I stared at his butt. _Come on, Clarke_.

The guards carried what little we had. They weren't trained in combat, but in gunhandling. Sometimes that wasn't enough to handle the Grounders.

Bellamy grabbed my forearm, turning me into him. His dark eyes held burning curiosity. "What happened between you and Finn?"

I pulled my arm away. "Nothing, geez."

"Then what's wrong with you?" He almost begged.

Part of me knew that he told Finn he slept with me as soon as I saw him. I just knew it. Sure, I wanted to know the truth, but I also wanted Bellamy to tell me what had happened and why'd he lie about something like that.

No matter how big and brown his eyes were I wasn't about to make this easy for him. If he was my best friend then he'd prove it to me.

"I'm fine." I didn't try to hide my anger.

BELLAMY'S POV:

Clarke was no doubt pissed off at me, but I had no idea what I did. Maybe she was just tired of being manhandled by Finn and I.

I looked away from Clarke to meet Octavia's confused eyes. She gestured towards Clarke in question. I shrugged. I don't know, I mouthed. Octavia slapped her forehead. I wasn't sure why, but Octavia really wanted me to be with Clarke. Now that Clarke knew about the crush I harbored on the Ark, things felt different. Especially because she admitted to feeling things for me and that kiss. God, that kiss. I didn't mean to but those blue eyes and pink lips were right in front of me, lit by candle light.

I groaned out of frustration. Clarke cut her eyes at me. I'm not going to lie, Clarke scared me half the time, but I liked that.

There was a limited speed she could walked, we both knew that. I didn't care how slow she walked I wasn't leaving her side, even if she seemed ready to bite my head off.

OCTAVIA'S POV:

Whatever happened between Bell and Clarke was surely Bell's fault. No even a few minutes ago she seemed fine with him, now they were at each other's throats again. It was an endless cycle, I swear. Whatever the case, I needed to talk to her. Bell was down here because of me and besides I wanted my big brother to be happy.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Murphy asked as he walked beside me.

"Huh?" I almost tripped over a root, but corrected myself. "What's a penny?" I said more to myself than him.

He shrugged. "I don't know. I heard my dad say it to my mom a while back."

"I don't really care, Murphy. I don't want to talk to you."

Finn headed our way. As much as I hated Murphy for trying to kill my brother, I hated him less than Finn.

I grabbed Murphy's arm and pulled him back. "On second thought, explain it to me."

He stared behind us and chuckled. "Wow, you must really hate Finn, huh?"

I glared at Murphy. "Don't flatter yourself, _John_."

His face hardened. "You know, I did what I had to do to survive. We've all done something."

He had a point. I was willing to slit a Grounder's throat in order to get Lincoln back. Luckily, I didn't have to.

"Yeah, well…you didn't have to go after Charlotte or my brother."

He huffed. "You're right. I'm an ass, but so is Bellamy." He took in my expression. "Look, no one here has a sibling besides you two. We don't know what that's like."

I shrugged. "That doesn't change the fact you tried to kill my _brother_, Murphy."

"Yeah, it doesn't. But he tried to kill me, too."

"Why are you talking to me?"

He eyed me as if I was stupid. "You're the fastest to piss Bellamy off." He glanced in their direction. "Besides Clarke."

I chuckled despite myself. "You're just talking to me to piss him off?"

"Well, that and you're hot. But I'm glad that you admire my work, little Blake."

I stopped walking for a moment. "Don't call me that. Got it?"

He smirked. "Whatever you say."

We walked in silence for a while.

He tripped on a root, but I caught him before he could fall.

"Thanks."

I ignored him.

"Don't you want to know why I'm down here with the rest of you?"

"Not really." I looked for Bell.

He was watching me and Murphy with an intense stink eye.

CLARKE'S POV:

"What is he doing?" Bell spat out.

I looked back at him to see his jaw clenched and his eyes hard. He was looking at Octavia talking with Murphy.

"They're just talking."

He headed over, his gun ready.

"Woah," I grabbed his arm, careful not to swing the gun in my direction.

"What do you think you're doing?"

His eyes met mine with a fierce intensity. They softened just a fraction. "Things aren't like they used to be, Bell. You can't just kill Murphy because he talked to Octavia."

His brow arched. "I wasn't going to kill him. Just shoot him a couple times."

I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing. "Whatever you're planning to do will only slow us down and tell the Grounders where we're at."

He lowered his gun. "Whatever you say, Princess." He marched off in front of me.

"Hey," I headed for him. "Okay, you win. Go shoot him." I demanded.

He wouldn't look my way.

"You know, you're not as tough as you want everyone to believe."

He continued in silence.

How had the situation reversed? I was the one that's supposed to be mad at him. Whatever the case, now was not the time to talk about our personal problems.

"What do you mean we lost him? One of the guards said.

My attention turned to them, doing a head count. "Shit."

Bellamy and I locked eyes. He stepped forward. "Hey, listen up." He walked closer to the crowd. "We are in their territory and-"

"Whose territory?" A Guard asked.

"The Grounders." He shouted.

"If one of us is missing that means they're after us."

We all looked around.

Octavia and Murphy ran toward us. "I can blow the fog horn, scare them away." Octavia reached for the horn.

"If they're watching us they'll know it was you." He told her.

"We have to run." I suggested.

"To where? We're in their territory, its booby trapped to hell!" He looked at me.

"We don't have a choice."

"What are you talking about?" Another Guard asked.

"Everyone be careful. We have to run. Keep your eyes peeled. There are booby traps everywhere. The Grounders like to hide in the trees. They have spears and knives. They will kill you."

To prove his point a spear came out of nowhere, pinning a Guard to a tree. The Guards freaked out.

"Run!" Murphy yelled, tugging Octavia with him.

I tried, but my leg slowed me down. "Bellamy!"

He looked back and understood. He cursed, then pushed us both to the ground and dropped on top of me, acting as my shield.

"What are you doing?" I shouted.

"Keep quiet. Maybe they'll think we're dead."

As unlikely as that may be that wasn't what I was focused on; Bellamy's warm body pressed against mine. His rough hands cradled my head to his chest. His heart practically beat out of his chest. He groaned as I felt his body jump. He'd been hit.

"Bellamy, where were you hit?"

No response.

"Bell?"

"I'm fine. Just in the back, which is still sore."

I held onto him, hoping by some miracle we'd be able to catch up to the others. My mind quickly went to Octavia and even Murphy, sending silent prayers their way.

Bellamy was yanked up by his jacket. He groaned in pain as the Grounders came into view. Another pulled me to my feet. My eyes never left Bellamy's.

"We're trying to save our people from the mountain men." I told them, not really sure if these particular Grounders spoke English or not.

Apparently, if they did they didn't care because they knocked me in the head and the last thing I saw was Bellamy's worried expression.

I woke with a bad taste in my mouth. My head throbbed as my eyes flickered open. "What?" My eyes adjusted to the darkness. Another body laid haphazardly on the hard ground a few feet away from me. "Where the hell?"

The previous events played in my mind. Bellamy. I took in the dark curly hair and Ark clothes. "Bellamy." I crawled to him, ignoring the pain in my leg as the worry set in. I didn't want to think it, but what if he was gone? The arrow was gone from his back. My hands went to lift his shirt to check for wrapping, but he flinched awake, pulling away from me. "Bell, it's me."

"Princess?" He groaned.

A bead of happiness filled me. "Yeah." I grinned.

Ever since we talked the other day my heart pounded when he called me princess.

He tried to turn, but with his wounds I wouldn't allow it. "You need rest and heal."

He turned to face me anyway. "No, I need to see you." His dark eyes scanned me. He grinned at the blush in my cheeks. How the hell he saw it in his darkness was beyond me. His hand reached up to touch my cheek. "You okay?"

My skin tingled under his touch. With a shaky breath, I said, "Yes."

He gave a small grin. "That's good."

My mind went back to when Murphy infected the camp and how Bellamy looked when he asked if I was okay. My heart fluttered.

"What are we doing here? What do they want with us? Why not kill us?"

Just then a Grounder threw a knife in our prison, then left. Bellamy and I shared a look.

"They can't be serious." He muttered.

So we waited in silence for what felt like hours in the dark and cold while nothing happened. Our stomachs growled, but we were used to the hunger. Finally, I grabbed the knife and gave it to Bellamy.

He looked at the knife then met my eyes. "What are you doing?"

"Making sure you see Octavia again."

His eyes grew darker. "What? I'm not killing you just to see my sister again."

I shoved the knife in his hand. "Take it. This may be your only chance to leave."

He knocked the knife out of my hand. There was definitely anger in his eyes. "What's wrong with you? Why are you so hell bent on me killing you?" He all but growled at me.

"Because you came down here to save your sister. I don't want to stand in the middle of that."

"Clarke-"

"If Octavia dies while we're in here, I'm scared you'll never forgive me." My voice cracked.

His eyes softened. "Hey, I wouldn't do that."

"Well, someone has to make it out of here. My leg is still injured so I can't run if I need to. But you can help get our people back. You can lead them."

"Clarke, stop it. I'm not killing you and I'm not leaving you. I can't."

Tears sprung to my eyes. "You have to get over that. They're not going to let both of us leave."

"Like hell their not." He spat.

"Whatever your plan is don't get yourself killed. I can't do this without you."

Unmistakable anger passed in his eyes. "So you were going to let me do this without you?!" He turned away from me, groaned in pain.

"Something has to be done. We're wasting time."

He didn't say anything for a while. Maybe he fell asleep or maybe he was just that mad.

BELLAMY'S POV:

How could she even think for a moment that I'd be okay with her offing herself for my sake? I was so angry I wanted to shake some sense into her, but I couldn't ever be that aggressive towards Clarke. I loved her. I mean, I think that this was what love felt like. I thought about Clarke just as much as Octavia, I worried about her the same. The only difference was with Octavia, it was in my DNA to care for her. With Clarke it was something else entirely. Thinking about her not being by my side for however long we had left on this planet was unbearable. People say it's better to have known then lost than to not have known, but with Clarke…If I was going to lose her I didn't want to know her at all.

She hadn't spoken for a while. Hopefully she was regretting her idiotic plan.

"I hope someday you forgive me."

There was something in her voice that made me turn. A protest caught in my throat as I witnessed her cut her throat. Blood oozed out endlessly. Her crystal blue eyes held mine until life drained out of her. All the air in my body left me. "No."

I stood to my feet, in shock. My eyes locked on the bloodied blade in her pale, lifeless hand. Tears sprung to my eyes as I fell into a crouch. "No." I grabbed the knife, twirled it in my hand. "NO!" I yelled, stabbing the knife into the ground. "You can't be dead." I fell to my knees. "You can't leave me."

I loudly gasped awake. My eyes searching for Clarke.

"Are you okay?" She surveyed me, the knife in hand.

I yanked it out of her hand and threw it clean across the room, then pulled her into a hug.

She hugged me back. "What's wrong? Bad dream?"

I took in her scent. Even sweaty and dirty she still smelled feminine. My eyes found hers. "You're alive, that's all that matters."

"What are you talking about?" She tried to hide her laugh.

"I'm in love with you, Clarke."

All traces of her laugh were gone as she stared at me with those big doe eyes. She could tear a man down with those eyes. "What?"

"You heard me."

She started to tear up as her face crumbled.

"What's wrong? Do you hate me that much, Princess?" I pulled her into a hug, ignoring my back yelling at me. I made sure to prop her leg up.

She shook her head on my chest.

"Then what?"

"I'm scared." She tried not to shake, but her body gave away her trembles. "What if we don't make it out of this one? What if one us isn't around anymore? I can't tell you I love you then lose you, I just can't."

My arms squeezed her harder. "So you are in love with me?"

"I hate you." She tried not to laugh.

I grinned. "Well, then I hate you to, Princess."

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	6. Leave Your Lover

OCTAVIA'S POV:

One of the Guards was speared by the Grounders.

"Run!" Murphy yelled.

Panic settled in. My eyes went to Bell and Clarke until a hand pulled me along and my feet picked up. I glanced at Murphy for a brief second as we ran for our lives. I heard Clarke call out Bellamy's name. I turned to see them staring at each other and then Bell covered Clarke with his body.

"Octavia, we have to go." Murphy yanked me from my stance forcefully.

I pulled my arm away. "Get off of me!"

After a few minutes of running no one else was speared. Murphy and I panted as we looked at each other. "Are we in the clear?" He asked, as if I knew the answer.

I shrugged as I looked at the tree line.

"Do we need to keep running?" A guard asked.

"It can't hurt." Another said.

"Where? For all we know we're running in circles."

"Keep your voices down." Murphy demanded.

I huffed. "We're not running in circles."

A Guard got huffy. "How do you know? How do we know we can trust you? You lived under the floor your whole life and you're infatuated with a Grounder!"

Murphy aimed his gun on him. "Come again?" It was Murphy's twisted way of trying to be noble, I guess.

My hand lowered his gun. Who gave him a gun anyway? I think it was Bell…What had he been thinking? Maybe it was only a matter of time before he turned full Finn. Bell would surely kill him then.

"Apologize!" He threatened as he raised his gun again.

The other Guards raised their guns at Murphy. "Put it down, Murphy."

"Hey," I called their attention to me. "We don't have time for this. We're still in their territory."

Murphy looked at me. "Why don't we hide in your boyfriend's cave? It's not like he's using it at the moment."

I rolled my eyes. "Dick." I turned to the others. "We don't have time. Why don't you all get that? We can't stop."

"What about Bellamy and Clarke?" A Guard asked.

There was no part of me that could entertain the thought of Bell being dead. I needed my brother, even though he could be a selfish dick half the time, the other half he was worrying about me.

"They can take care of themselves."

"What do you mean they can take care of themselves? Jones was speared to a freaking tree! How could they be alive?"

"We've been down here for months. We know how to take care of ourselves."

They pfft'd in unison.

"Okay tough guys. Murphy and I will go to Mount Weather. Everyone else can go back to basecamp. Good luck finding your way back if the Grounders don't get you first or booby traps."

Murphy met my eyes and smirked. "Give us the guns."

There was no need for more than two guns for us, but we had nothing in the beginning.

"Yeah," I grinned at Murphy for a moment. "We had to make it without guns for a month. You guys can do it. Oh, don't forget to steer clear of water what with the giant snake and all, learned that the hard way." I tried not to lose my serious composure.

Murphy chuckled as he crossed his arms. "Go ahead."

They all hesitated, they knew they needed us to survive out here. Murphy and I raised our brows at each other in amusement.

"No takers?" He asked.

"That's what I thought." I concluded.

Murphy leaned into my space. I leaned back. "What are you doing?"

His blue eyes held amusement. "Relax, I'm not trying to kiss you."

I still couldn't relax. His close proximity made me feel flushed. "Then what are you doing?"

"We need to get rid of them. They're dead weight."

What he said made sense, but they needed us. "We can't just leave them. They'll die."

"Why are you defending them?" A moment ago they were ready to kick you out of the group because of Lincoln." He rationalized.

"What's wrong with you?"

His forehead creased. "I'm not going to let us die or get captured again because they just got here."

"Us? Why do you care so much about saving me? You know I hate you, right?"

"Don't do that."

My brow arched. "Huh?"

"Don't try to make this into something it's not." His cheeks burned red, by the looks of it he wasn't happy about it.

"You have a little crush? Its okay, Murphy. It's creepy, but it's not the worst."

"Shut up." He headed towards the Guars with irritated eyes and a blooming blush.

Wait? Did he really have a crush on me? No way. I refuse to believe that. He was a psychopath… But he wasn't always this way. He couldn't have been.

As we ran to flee the territory he kept glancing back at me. I wanted to flip him off, but that was a bit childish.

"Hey," A Guard strode by me as we slowed to a run. "Greg." He grinned. He was handsome, but had nothing on Lincoln.

"Yeah?" I questioned.

His grey eyes were skeevy. "So you and a Grounder, huh?"

I gave him a look. "What's your point?"

He grinned like a cat. "You into that rough stuff?"

I sort of gasped and scoffed at the same time before putting some distance between us.

"How old are you anyway?" He eyed my body and suddenly I couldn't have enough clothes on. My arms covered my chest uncomfortably as I ignored him.

"Whoa." He said. "Chill out. I was just talking to her."

I turned back to see Murphy holding a gun at him. I groaned. Not again.

"No, you were trying to hit on an underage girl, who happens to be sixteen."

"So you're going to shoot me for talking to her? That isn't a crime and if you kill a Guard you'll be floated so fast."

Okay, psychopath or not Murphy seemed to have made a habit of trying to help me. He was probably doing it to get on Bell's good side. Though I was sure it would take a whole lot more for Bellamy to forgive Murphy for what he did.

"Murphy, for the last time quit it before you get yourself killed."

His blue eyes met mine. There was a flicker of something recognizable amongst anger before he turned back to Greg. I really wanted to know what his deal was, but connecting with him wasn't a part of the plan.

He marched off without another glance my way.

"Thank you." I said only to be met by silence.

It was almost dark, which meant we needed to set up camp soon. Murphy didn't acknowledge me as I walked beside him. "Hey." I flicked his arm, bringing his eyes to mine. "I said thank you earlier, you know."

He looked ahead. "Yeah, whatever."

"What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing. Just leave me alone, alright?"

I rolled my eyes. "Is this about earlier? Because I didn't ask you to do that. Hell, I don't even like you, but I did appreciate it. But I can fend for myself, don't ever think that I can't."

He turned those sinister eyes on me. "Got it." He headed in a different direction.

"Where are you going?" I called.

"Don't worry about it."

I huffed. Great.

We set up camp or I set up pretty much everything as the Guards watched me. I kept meeting Greg's eyes uncomfortably. His gaze made my skin crawl. I gave a humorless laugh. If it was just Bell, Clarke, Murphy, and I we would've been there by now. We knew the shortcuts, well I did thanks to Lincoln. We knew these woods a whole lot better than they did. They were slowing us down, Murphy was right. If I knew there was a chance they'd make it back in one piece I'd slip away when they were all sleeping to go look for Mount Weather myself.

My thoughts went to Bell and Clarke as I gazed up at the starry sky. They had to be alive. I couldn't go on without them. All I'd have left was Raven and Murphy and that'd suck big time. I wasn't very partial to Raven, but she continued to help keep us alive. For a moment, I thought she'd be a problem with Bell, but it was just a passing thing. He had found what I found with Lincoln with Clarke. If he'd just grow a pair and fess up already then things between them would be gravy. Lincoln…he was all I had without everyone else. If something happened to him then I'd really be screwed.

"Where's Murphy?" A guard asked.

I shrugged then started into the distance. If I do say so myself I came pretty far from chasing Butterflies to kicking Grounder ass. Speaking of Grounder ass, Lincoln had a nice one. I chuckled to myself.

"What's so funny?" Greg asked.

I couldn't roll my eyes hard enough. "Don't you have some other innocent girls to scam on?"

His grin faltered, but only a little. "You're hardly innocent."

I walked away from him, but he followed. "I'm taken." I threw over my shoulder. "I'm not the girl you're looking for."

"I don't see this Grounder around, do you?"

I walked faster. "Go back to camp. It's not safe out here."

He grabbed my hand and pulled me to him. That grin much like a cat's produced a bead of panic in my stomach.

"Seriously, take a hint guy." I yanked my hand away.

His demanding hands yanked my waist to him, exposing his manhood to me. His body pressed heavily on mine as I tried to get away, but he was far stronger than me. I punched him in the jaw and I felt my hand crack. One of his hand held mine above my head as the other squeezed my chest.

"No." I cried out. "Please, don't do this."

He was pulled from me. Relief flooded me as I spot Murphy. He rammed Greg to the ground and started punching the crap out of him. Greg got him in the stomach, he sneered with a busted lip. He glared at me as he rose.

"Now you've done it."

Fear spiked in me. This guy had about thirty pounds on Murphy who had twenty or more on me.

"Please."

Tears spilled from my eyes. I wanted my big brother.

Murphy knocked Greg's feet from under him, knocking him to the ground. "You piece of shit." Murphy kicked him in the side. "You apologize to her."

"Fuck you." Greg spat out blood.

Murphy was on him so hard I was sure he'd kill him.

"Murphy! Stop, you're going to kill him!"

He glanced back at me with those sadistic blue eyes and they softened for a few moments before returning it to danger blue. "What do you think he's going to do, Octavia? Stop?"

Greg groaned in pain. I underestimated Murphy's ability to fight, which I shouldn't have because he had to go through torture…something none of us had to experience. I both loathed and respected Murphy with equal measure as of late. Well, as of today. Maybe I already respected him for what he endured, but it doesn't changed the fact that he tried to kill my _brother_. That was unforgivable. But I couldn't look past the fact he pulled me out of harm's way three times today. What the hell was my problem today that I needed to be saved by _Murphy_?

Murphy fell to the ground as Greg bled out on the ground. Blue eyes found mine, but they weren't really seeing them.

"It had to be done." He groaned as he clutched his side.

"No, it didn't. We could've banished him!" I yelled.

"Yeah and he would've came back like I did!" He rose. "He tried to rape you, Octavia! Sexual assault is a capital offense, I wasn't going to let him live with what he'd done!"

My composure crumbled. I fell apart. I just wanted my brother and Lincoln.

After a few moments Murphy patted my shoulder awkwardly. "There, there."

Once I pulled myself together, I said, "You're terrible at comforting someone." My good hand wiped my eyes as I clutched the other to my chest.

"Sorry, I'm a little out of practice, little Blake." His hands wrapped around my shoulders as he helped me to my feet. His eyes ran over my face, focusing on each feature for a few moments.

Despite myself, my face felt hot. There was no way he could see that in this darkness though.

His eyes flickered back up to mine. "You okay?" Sincerity hung in his voice.

I nodded, swallowing the lump in my throat.

"Let's get back to camp." His hands slid down my arms, creating an endearing warmth that was quickly followed by cold.

"Okay."

We walked in silence and it was the most awkward silence in my life. There was something that needed to be said before it became a problem. I turned to him to find him watching me. Earlier today I would've found that creepy, but now I saw it for what it really was.

"Murphy," I started.

There was no easy way to tell someone that you don't want them having feelings for you. Granted, all of my flings have been on Earth for a few months, I still knew the heartache.

"Octavia." He smirked.

I found the corners of my mouth turning up into a grin, then I organized them back to normal. "Look, I really do appreciate everything you've done for me today, but-"

"But you don't want it to go any further."

My brow furrowed. "How'd you know what I was going to say?"

He wiped at his nose. "Look, I like you. That much is obvious. I know you're with Lincoln and you're Bellamy's sister, but I like you." There was nothing sadistic or sinister in his eyes now.

My mouth went dry as my pulse pounded in my ears. "I…"

"Trust me, I know how you feel about me. It's not hard to guess. All I'm asking is for you to keep your options open."

There were no words. We came into view of the camp. I realized something important; I was more comfortable with Murphy than a potential rapist. That was a big deal for me.

He grinned at my surprise. "Okay?"

I had no idea what to do so I just nodded. What was I thinking?

He posted up against a tree. He was going to be on watch. "Goodnight, little Blake."

I internally groaned. "Don't call me that, Murphy."

I headed towards the camp. Rest was much needed. Tomorrow was going to be a hell of a day.


End file.
